Friday, September 12, 2008

I wish I could vote for John McCain

I'd love to be able to afford to vote for John McCain. I have great respect for his lifetime of service to this country, but on what I earn, I can't afford to pay additional income tax on the value of my employer provided health insurance and to pay for that coverage myself with after tax dollars after he takes away the corporate tax deduction for providing that insurance and my employer drops the health insurance plan.

I'd love to be able to afford to vote for John McCain, his patriotism and courage, as shown by his military service and bravery as a POW, is without question. But I don't earn enough money to afford to retire without Social Security, a program that will be greatly diminished when he privatizes it and removes the guarantee of a minimum monthly retirement check from my future.

I can't afford four more years of business as usual, 28.9% credit card interest rates, 60 million dollar severance packages for CEOs that betray their fiduciary responsibilities and run their companies into the ground, tax breaks for the rich at the expense of the ever shrinking middle class, and troops going in harm's way to protect democracy, while their families are on food stamps and their homes are in foreclosure.

I'd love to be able to afford to vote for John McCain. I respect the way he has fought to stop mud slinging and run an issue based presidential campaign. I wish I could cast my vote for Senator John McCain, but, his support for continued tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens and corporations, support for the loss of jobs to overseas companies, his lack of support for organized labor, and complete disregard for the plight of working Americans, leaves me no choice, but to ever so reluctantly, take a chance on change, take a chance perhaps a less experienced choice, and vote for Senator Barak Obama.

Respectfully,

Robert Daraio

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